Devastate
by BTR'slovesong
Summary: Something's wrong with James after Big Time Rush arrives home from their world tour, something the guys thought they had prevented. Is his fate now in the hands of the unthinkable?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Sometimes I have this yearning need in my heart for James whump, so this happened. Although it may seem like it at first, this story is not Carlos whump. So, enjoy? **

James nestled himself into the warm nest of his twin sized bed, letting the red satin sheets slowly drape over his exhausted body. As soon as his cheek hit the soft confines of his pillow, he immediately felt more relaxed than he had in days or even weeks. He closed his heavy eyelids and waited patiently to succumb to the inevitable, peaceful pull of sleep.

It's been two weeks since the guys returned from their 2 month long world tour. It had been a fun adventure with amazing experiences that one could only hope and dream to live one day, but at the same time, it drained James more than he had ever expected it would. It was flight after flight, city after city, with no time to recover from jetlag and little time to sleep. Concerts were every night while radio and talk show appearances were every morning, and though James loved little more than to show off his awesomeness to the entire world, he couldn't help but to think about how relieved he was to finally be in his cozy, small home with just his bros and no roadies or screaming fans or Gustavo.

Gustavo had promised them plenty of time off after their tour; a two month break spanning over summer, in fact. But just two days after the tour had ended, they had yet to even so much as unpack their suitcases, and Gustavo had the boys come to the studio because an upcoming movie wanted Big Time Rush on their soundtrack. The song would be in the opening credits, and the opportunity was just too good to pass up, so for the past couple of weeks they had been hard at work in the studio yet again to write, rehearse and record a song fitting for the movie.

Today was really only the first day James had to rest since the world tour, so as soon as they left the studio that afternoon, instead of hanging out by the pool with the guys and his friends, he snuck up to his room, stripped off his sweaty tank top and jeans to replace them with just a pair of plaid pajama pants, and hopped right into bed for a long afternoon nap.

"James! Does it really take you this long to change into your bathing suit? Come on dude I've been waiting for you for 20 minutes!"

James let out a groan, his eyes snapping open. He rolled over onto his belly and shoved his arms beneath his pillow, clutching the soft fabric to his cheek. He was _just_ starting to finally drift off to slumber, but Carlos decided to hop into his bedroom full of energy as usual and startle him awake.

"_Carlos,"_ James groaned, the words muffled by his pillow. "Do you really need me to go to the pool with you? I told you I was going to skip the pool today and get caught up on some stuff."

"I didn't think you weren't going to come down at all," Carlos said apologetically, to which James rolled his eyes. A few seconds of silence went by. "Were you sleeping?" Carlos finally asked, somewhat timidly. James turned his head so one eye peeked out from over the pillow to see his friend standing near his bed, watching him apprehensively.

"Obviously!" James said, a little annoyed now. "Look, go hang by the pool with the guys, ok?"

"But it's only 2 0' clock in the afternoon, why would you be sleeping? You said you were going to get caught up on 'stuff.'"

"And by 'stuff' I meant _sleep!" _James narrowed his light brown eyebrows into a scowl, forcing his tired, aching body to sit up. Carlos seemed a little perturbed that he had been trying to sleep. It was pretty unusual, James had to admit, for him to lie down in the middle of the day when all of his friends were waiting for him by the pool. He didn't want Carlos to think something was wrong. But naturally, the Latino's eyes filled with worry, and the question was asked,

"Are you okay?"

James rolled his eyes. He hated that question. It was a stupid, meaningless question because James Diamond was a_lways _okay, not to mention it made him kind of uncomfortable when his buds fretted over him. He was supposed to protect them, not the other way around.

"I'm just tired, Carlitos," James assured him gently. "We've been going at it nonstop for months. I just wanted a little nap before going to see my friends."

Carlos nodded with understanding. Truthfully, he had been a little tired too after the tour. He'd been coming home from the last few recording sessions with a tickle in his throat and a slight ache in his head. Maybe James had the right idea, to curl up early and go to sleep for a while. Logan had been bugging them to get more rest, even though the brunet was reunited with Camille recently after not seeing her for 2 months and had been spending every waking moment with her rather than resting like he said they should all do.

James sighed and relaxed back onto his bed, unable to keep his eyes open much longer. He had never felt this tired in his life before. But he blinked his eyes back open in shock when he saw Carlos crawling into his bed across the room, hiding beneath his comforter and snuggling up like a baby kitten.

"Carlos, aren't you going to the pool?" James wondered, his words stretching out with a loud yawn. He smacked his lips wearily and waited for Carlos to answer.

"You're right, we have 2 full months to chill with our friends and do nothing. They'll be there when we wake up. I'm tired too, now that I think about it. Naptime buds?"

James smiled a little with what little strength he had left, silently thankful he had a naptime buddy. James always preferred to have his friends with him at all times rather than being alone. It wasn't that he was scared of being alone or even minded it really, he just always had this need, this little empty, invisible hole inside of him that was only filled when Carlos, Kendall or Logan were around. He preferred to have that hole filled at all times.

"Naptime buds," James repeated after Carlos, his lips hardly moving at all as he finally fell into a much needed sleep.

Coughing.

Deep, hacking, painful sounding gags were what woke James up from his nap, pulling his mind away from the fog of sleep and back to reality.

But James wasn't the one who was coughing so harshly.

The sounds were so alarming, that even though James felt like he could go right back to sleep, he pried his eyes open and sat up with a dizzying start, his eyes finally landing on the small form of Carlos, who was wide awake beneath his blankets, cheeks blazing red and eyes glossed over with fever.

"Carlos?" James croaked, stumbling weakly out of bed. He barely made the short distance to Carlos' bed before collapsing on the animal safari-print bed sheets, sitting beside his friends trembling body.

"Did I wake you up?" Carlos asked between coughs. He sniffed thickly, clear fluid dripping down his cleft and onto his upper lip. James cringed. His best friend was obviously sick with a bad cold or something.

"It's ok, don't worry about it bud," James said softly, taking a tissue from Carlos' bedside table and wiping under his nose. He couldn't believe how quickly illness had set in. Carlos was fine before he went to sleep… Wasn't he?

"What hurts?" James swiped a hand through Carlos sweaty black bangs, wishing he could fix whatever was hurting the younger boy.

"Everything," Carlos whispered, wincing when even speaking softly hurt his throat. The symptoms he had felt earlier that afternoon were tenfold now. Terribly sore throat, drowsiness, and a pounding headache, not to mention he was starting to feel stuffed up in his chest and nose.

James placed a cool hand on Carlos' warm forehead. His eyes widened in alarm at the heat he found there. Carlos falling ill wasn't exactly unusual. The teenager was so careless about his health and constantly kept going with little to no rest that he was sick much more than any of the rest of them. But James still worried when his best friend's small body was overtaken with illness. He hated it when Carlos was sick enough for a fever. He should've known something was wrong the moment Carlos had lied down for a nap that afternoon.

"I don't feel good," Carlos told James, who removed his hand from his forehead to rub his back comfortingly.

"Let me go get Logan, he'll fix you up in no time," James promised. Carlos nodded and closed his eyes. "Get some sleep. I'll be back in a few minutes."

James quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and a striped t-shirt, glancing in the mirror on his dresser as he did so. He had to take a double look at what he saw in his reflection, not really believing it was him at first. Despite the fact that his short chestnut locks were standing straight up on end, he looked as tired as he felt. His skin was pale gray around his cheekbones, and the sensitive skin underneath his eyes was swollen purple. His usually bright honey colored eyes were dull and small looking, eyelids drooping. James' first instinct was to do his hair and conceal the bags under his eyes, but he saw Carlos in the mirror sleeping behind him, reminding him that he had more important things to do, so he tore his gaze away from his unpleasant reflection and darted down the stairs of the Palmwoods to find Logan.

It was 5 pm now, and the pool was almost empty since most of the kids were about to eat dinner with their families, but James found Logan and Camille inside one of the cabanas, sipping on limeade and staring into each other's eyes not so much lovingly but more like they wanted to ravenously attack each other with their lips, which is what they spent 90% of their relationship doing to each other anyway.

"Logan, Carlos is sick," James said urgently. Logan looked momentarily annoyed that his time with Camille was interrupted, but then James' words sank in. He scooted his chair back loudly from the little table and jumped to his feet.

"Is he alright?" Logan asked, giving Camille an apologetic glance. She only smiled at her boyfriend. After years of being best friends with the guys, she knew the strength of their bond by now. When one was sick or hurting, they were all there for him, no matter what, and had a habit of worrying a little bit more than what was necessary.

"He's running a fever. I think he's really sick," James said, sadness evident in his voice. He didn't want Carlos to be sick, even if it was just a cold. Camille gave him a sympathetic pout and patted his cheek.

"He'll be okay," she assured her worried friend, then turned to Logan and pecked his cheek.

"Sorry Camille," he offered, shrugging his shoulders. "Duty calls. We'll meet up later."

"Of course. Go take care of your friend."

"You're the best Camille," Logan said sweetly. He gave her a small wave and ran back up to the apartment behind James.

"Buddy! We're back!" James called, walking into his and Carlos' bedroom. The Latino was snoring softly, sprawled over his mattress, blankets half on the bed, half on the floor. Carlos must have kicked the blankets off his shivering body in a feverish fit.

"You need these buddy," James whispered, setting the warm fabric back over Carlos' body. He then shook his shoulder gently to wake him up. Long eyelashes fluttered open to reveal sick, dull brown eyes shining with innocence and pain.

"James?" Carlos whispered harshly. His hand immediately went straight to his throat. It really hurt. James hushed him and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Logan's here too. He's getting supplies to make you feel better."

As if on cue, Logan burst into the room with a frazzled look on his delicate features, carrying an arm load of items to get Carlos back to health. James grabbed a few things from his overloaded arms and set them on the nightstand.

"Okay, I got fever reducer, cold medicine, ice packs, a thermometer-" Logan paused for a moment to shove the small device into Carlos' mouth "- Vitamins, juice, a bottle of water, crackers, we are out of chicken noodle soup so hopefully this will do…" Logan set down a bowl of tomato soup, which Carlos stared distastefully at. "Honey and lemon, and extra blankets."

James set to work in wrapping Carlos up in a fleece blanket, while Logan removed the thermometer from his mouth.

"One-oh-one point seven," he read, and his dark eyebrows knotted together with concern. Carlos was one to run high fevers, one moment it would be normal and the next his body temperature would rise up dangerously high.

James sighed as Carlos looked up at him helplessly, silently begging for some relief from his symptoms. He rubbed circles on his back gently as Logan administered the right dosage of medication and vitamins for him to take.

"When did you start feeling bad, buddy?" Logan asked, handing him some pills, which Carlos swallowed down with a whimper when the action made his throat hurt worse.

"I don't know, I was okay today, just a little scratchy throat and then I took a nap and woke up feeling really sick," Carlos said. He coughed suddenly, and James patted his back through it. Through the coughing fit, Carlos smiled pitifully and waved at somebody in the doorway.

"Hey Kendall," Carlos said in a raspy voice.

"Hey, where did you guys want to go for dinner- what's going on here?" The fearless, green-eyed boy asked as he came in the room and assessed what everyone was doing. His stomach became knotted when he realized Carlos was sick.

"Carlos came down with something," Logan explained. "But he'll be fine after he gets some rest. I don't think we'll be able to go out to dinner like we planned."

"That's nonsense," James cut in. "I'll stay here and take care of the little dude. You guys go on ahead."

"You sure you don't mind?" Logan asked as his stomach grumbled. Neither of them had eaten much that day and they were looking forward to going to one of their favorite restaurants for dinner.

"Of course not. I'll make sure he gets plenty of rest and medicine," James assured the junior doctor, who looked skeptical at first. Although Logan didn't trust James with much, he knew he'd always take good care of Carlos. The younger boy was like a brother to James. But none of the guys in the house had much knowledge on how to treat a cold or flu and he didn't want to come home to Carlos with a high fever and a mess around the house. Kendall, however, thought it to be a fine idea, but then again he always put blind faith into James for some reason.

"James can handle a couple of hours without us around. Let's go eat. We'll be home by around 8 o' clock."

James grinned. He was looking forward to some quiet time alone with his best friend. Maybe they could watch a movie and go to sleep early. If Kendall and Logan stayed at home, they would ask James why he was sitting in bed all night rather than playing video game or practicing his modeling and singing. He didn't want his friends to worry over him when all he felt was super exhausted.

"Alright, we'll go," Logan agreed. James escorted Kendall and Logan to the door with his arms around each of their shoulders.

"You two lovebirds go have a nice time tonight," James cooed. Logan rolled his eyes and Kendall jabbed him in the gut.

"Keep your eye on Carlos. Don't let him out of bed and make sure he eats something," Logan said.

"Carlos will be fine," James said, pushing them through the door and closing it behind him.

"James, my head hurts," Carlos whined, rubbing his temples. James turned around and turned off all the lights except one table lamp.

"How's that buddy?" James asked. He sat on the edge of Carlos' bed and set the ice pack on his hot forehead.

"Better," Carlos said, closing his eyes.

"No, don't sleep yet. You need to eat some soup first."

"I don't wanna."

"But Logan said you have to eat something."

"Logan's not here."

"But you haven't eaten all day and it will help you feel better. Come on, do what James says and take a bite."

Carlos groaned into his pillow and pouted, but finally rolled over and ate a few bites of soup and drank some juice.

"Can we watch cartoons?" Carlos asked drowsily, his head falling listlessly to the pillows.

"I don't think you should get out of bed," James told him, flipping over and adjusting the icepack which was now warm on one side. "You're really burning up. I want you to get some sleep. I'll be right here all night, okay?"

"But James, I really want to watch 'Speed Racer,'" Carlos argued in a slow, slurred speech as James fluffed his pillows and tucked him in.

"I know you do buddy," James spoke softly. He knew it would be a matter of seconds before Carlos fell asleep, and his predictions were right. Carlos was out like a light. James smiled down fondly at the sick boy before finally crawling into his own bed and falling asleep as well.

**A/N If you all like it, I'll have the next chapter up asap. Let me know what you think? **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N askdfndrgrtighrtightrig you guys thank you so much for all of the reviews you guys I am so freaking happy! I hope you like chapter two :D I apologize for the errors in this chapter because I have a 3 year old hanging off of me and I'm so sleep deprived because I drank a mountain dew last night and I was literally vibrating until 3 AM and then I had vivid dreams of hillbilly zombies hoarding cattle? And then I fell off my bed three times. I have no idea. So yeah this is entirely not proof read so enjoy this masterpiece of errors. Oh my God the three year old I nanny says I smell bad and doesn't like my perfume but it's PS I Love You by bath and body works I smell amazing he has no idea what he's saying.**

Logan stood in the doorway of James and Carlos' bedroom, arms crossed over his chest and eyebrows curled together thoughtfully as he watched the steady rise and fall of James' chest. The brunet was sleeping like a rock, completely undisturbed by any of the early morning chaos that had happened. What concerned Logan the most, though, was that when he and Kendall arrived home at 8 pm the night before, James was dead asleep just like he was now, meaning he'd been sleeping for at least 13 hours straight, being that it was 9 AM now. Carlos woke up at 7:30 that morning, his fever broken. He was feeling much better, though still a little bit under the weather. But now Logan was worried that James was sick, too. Why else would he be sleeping for that long of a time?

"Jeez, James is still sleeping?" Carlos asked, barging past Logan and nearly knocking him over, making a beeline for his dresser to get dressed for the morning. His voice was still a bit rough and his nose was stuffed up, but Logan was pleased to see that he at least had his color back and was able to function. "He went to sleep at like, the same time I did last night."

"Which was when?" Logan asked as Carlos threw on a pair of track pants and a hoodie. They were dressing for the studio, because once again, Gustavo needed them back that morning because the ending vocals for the new song had changed. They boys desperately needed some time off. Their poor voices were cracking with strain, not to mention they were exhausted and running the risk of becoming ill, but none of them seemed as worn out as James was.

"Like, 6 o' clock or something," Carlos said.

"15 hours?" Logan mumbled under his breath.

"Say what?" Carlos asked.

"Nothing, just go make sure Kendall is getting ready. I'll be out in a minute," Logan said. He didn't want Carlos to see him fretting over James. Carlos was protective over James and would freak out at the notion of him being sick.

"Okay," Carlos chimed, slipping on his shoes and bounding out of the room. Logan took a few short shrugs to where James lay on his side, curled up and still. He looked peaceful, but too pale for Logan's liking. The young doctor placed a hand on James' forehead to find it completely cool to the touch. James really didn't seem sick. Logan hadn't heard one peep from him all night, not a cough or a sneeze or a moan. Besides from looking a bit colorless, he seemed fine on the outside.

"Hey James," Logan said softly, shaking James' shoulder. The taller boy let out a groan and rolled onto his stomach, still half asleep. "Come on sleeping beauty, it's time to wake up."

"Why?" James asked groggily, blinking his eyes open. He was surprised to find sunshine gleaming brightly through the shades. He thought it was only 3 AM by how tired he felt.

"Because, you've been sleeping for 15 hours and Gustavo wants us to get to the studio," Logan told him. "We leave in 30 minutes. You need to get dressed."

"15 hours?" James asked, alarmed. He surely didn't feel he was sleeping for 15 hours. It seemed to him like he only just fell asleep!

"I guess you needed to catch up on sleep," Logan said with a crooked smile, studying James' movements. He was moving slowly, like his body was sore or something. It took him several moments just to reach a sitting position. Logan's smile slowly faded. "James, are you feeling okay?"

James' stomach twisted with dread. _Oh no_. Logan thought he was sick. That was the last thing James wanted.

James jumped out of bed, ignoring the weakness in his bones, and plastered a smile to his face. "I'm fine Logan, I was just tired. I'm good now though."

Logan just stared at him, sensing that his friend's sudden exuberance was fake. But they had to be at the studio soon and Logan didn't have time to play games with James. He would just have to keep an eye out for him at the recording today.

"If you're feeling bad like Carlos, let me know right away," Logan warned.

"I will. I promise," James lied. "Hey, how is Carlos anyway? Is he feeling better?" James' eyes darted to Carlos' empty bed. "Where is he?"

"He's much better. His fever's broken. I don't know how much singing he'll be able to do today though." Logan threw a pair of jeans and a t-shirt at James' face. "Get dressed we're leaving in 20 minutes."

Logan left the room, and James scowled at his clothes like they were his worst enemy. He wanted nothing more than to just stay in bed all day. Was just one day off too much to ask for? The way he was feeling right now, James felt as if he could sleep forever. But since sleeping would only make his friends worry, James rolled out of bed, dressed, did his hair, and met his buds in the car to head to the studio for another day of recording.

Maybe it was the warm and refreshing breeze in the pre-summer LA air, or all of the hustle and bustle of the city, but James felt himself much more awake once he set foot outdoors. It really was a beautiful day out, and though all of the guys were worn from so much work, there was still an energy of excitement in the cherry red convertible as they looked forward to having the entire summer off after this next recording.

The good feelings didn't last long though. James had only been in the studio for an hour, laying down his own vocals in a tiny private sound booth, when the chills started. The tremors were so violent that his voice began to quiver because of it. He was so cold…

"James! What are you doing in there? It sounded awesome until now. Your voice is uneven," Gustavo scolded, turning off the music. James pouted and removed his headset, opening up the sound proof glass door.

"I can't work when it's this cold in here. Can we turn the heat on?" James pleaded, rubbing his hands over his arms. Gustavo looked at him like he was crazy and jabbed a finger to where Kendall, Carlos and Logan all sat in the break room. They had all laid down their vocals recently and were now a sweaty mix, collapsed on the break room couch with bottles of cold water.

"It's 75 degrees in here. Why would I put on the heat?" Gustavo asked.

"Can I at least take a break?" James asked as shivers coursed through his body. Gustavo stared James down with an annoyed glint in his eye, but he knew the high-maintenance boy would not get any work done until he got what he wanted.

"Fine, 5 minute bathroom break. Not one minute late!" Gustavo warned. James mumbled a thankful and jogged to the restroom. He leaned against the counter as exhaustion started to set in. Man did he need a nap, badly.

James sighed and glanced up at his reflection. He was surprised to find that, instead of his pale pallor from this morning, his cheeks were flushed bright red as if he had over-exerted himself and became over-heated or something, even though he was freezing cold.

'

"Ugh, I want to go home," James grumbled, wiping a hand over his forehead. The skin was cool to the touch and a bit clammy. It didn't make sense. Why was he sweating when he was so damn cold?

"Yo James, you in here dude?" Kendall suddenly barged into the bathroom curiously. James straightened up and took a deep breath, putting on the act that he was perfectly fine. He had taken many drama lessons during his high school years. Surely he could give the appearance of being okay while feeling a bit under the weather. After all, it wasn't like he was full-out sick or anything. Just sleepy. And cold.

"Yeah, I'm here," James said, turning on the water faucet and washing his hands to make it look as if he had just gone to the bathroom. He relaxed a bit when the warm water rushed over his shaking hands.

"Gustavo's looking for you," Kendall said. His green eyes were watching James warily, but the brunet ignored it as he dried off his hands with a towel.

"It hasn't even been 5 minutes," James said under his breath, annoyed. He was beginning to feel a bit irritated. He wanted this day to be over with already.

"Well, he's freaking out a little bit so you might want to hurry up," Kendall said a bit reluctantly, as if he wanted to say something else but was physically biting his lip to keep it in. James knew what the question would be before he even asked it. He would ask James if he was alright, if he was feeling okay. James was thankful Kendall held the question back considering he felt like snapping at whoever asked him that next.

"I'm coming," James said, squeezing past Kendall through the doorway. He noticed Kendall was wearing a gray and black American eagle jacket over his thin frame and pulled on the material gently.

"Hey, can I wear this? It's chilly in the sound booth," James said. Kendall arched an eyebrow, but still unzipped the hoodie and worked his arms out of the fabric.

"It's like a steam bath in there but whatever," Kendall said, handing his friend the jacket and thinking nothing of it.

By the end of the afternoon, the guys had all finished the vocals that were needed and Gustavo finally let them loose.

"Can we please get pizza to celebrate the start of our summer vacation?" Carlos pleaded as they headed out of the studio. He crossed his fingers together and jutted out his lower lip. "Please? I feel much better."

"Only if you promise to go straight to bed and rest after we eat," Logan said. "You still have a cold and you don't look too good."

"Only because I'm _starving!"_ Carlos said, a bounce in his step knowing they could go out for a pizza dinner.

"Kendall, James, pizza sound good?" Logan asked as they walked down the sidewalk. Even though they drove to the studio, it was too beautiful outside to not walk. Kendall agreed right away, but James was quiet, still wrapped tightly in Kendall's hoodie despite the sun beating down on his shoulders.

"James, aren't you hot in that sweatshirt?" Logan wondered. He was in a t-shirt and track pants and the sun felt very warm on his skin. He couldn't imagine wearing a hoodie outside in this weather.

"Nope," James said simply, walking slightly ahead of his friends. It was then that Logan and Kendall shared the same look of concern with each other.

"He's not acting right," Logan whispered.

"No, he's not," Kendall agreed. "He was fine just a couple of days ago, wasn't he?"

"Totally normal," Logan whispered. "I don't know what's gotten into him but he's hardly spoken a word all day today."

James abruptly stopped walking, but he didn't turn around to face his friends.

"You guys know I can hear you, right?" He asked acidly, his voice harsher than what was needed. Logan and Kendall's cheeks heated up with guilt while poor Carlos just stared at the trio in confusion, completely oblivious to the conversation between Kendall and Logan.

"Sorry," Kendall mumbled. James continued walking, so the others followed awkwardly. Luckily, the pizza shop was only a couple of store fronts ahead so the rest of the walk was quick.

The guys crawled into their usual booth and ordered DR. Peppers all around. But when the drinks came, James only took one small sip while the others had already finished their soda in a few huge gulps. Logan opened his mouth to say something about it, but Kendall jabbed him lightly in the ribs, giving him a warning glare. James seemed to be on edge and especially irritated at the moment. He didn't want their pizza dinner to be ruined. They were already at the restaurant, the least they could do was enjoy it and then baby James when they got back to the apartment. Logan got the hint and forced himself to ignore James' behavior for the sake of an enjoyable dinner, and soon the guys were joking about the memories of the world tour and chatting about their soundtrack song and how excited they were for the fans to hear it. They discussed the latest hockey scores and their new favorite skateboard gear and the new girl that moved into the Palmwoods while they had been gone. Well, Kendall, Logan and Carlos all chattered excitedly about these things, but James, he just leaned against the wall next to the booth, resting his head on the wooden wall as his friends' voices, a normally comforting sound, swarmed and buzzed in his mind. The chills were gone now, they disappeared as quickly as they came. One moment they were there, the next they weren't. But instead, James was sweating, his cheeks red hot and his insides warm. This wasn't a normal kind of hot and James knew it. He wondered briefly if this was how girls felt when they had hot flashes. Was he turning into a girl?

James shook the obnoxious thought away, sighing with relief when their pizza finally came to the table. Not that he had much of an appetite, but the sooner they finished eating, the sooner James could be home in bed, which was a very enticing thought. Nothing sounded better than his bed at this point.

"You're not going to eat any pizza?" Carlos asked as he bit into a piping hot slice of cheese pizza. He winced as the sauce burned his tongue, but it was too tasty to wait until it cooled off.

"I'm still full from breakfast," James said dully, not even lifting his head an inch off the wall.

Kendall studied James' flushed, sweaty appearance. He was sprawled against the wall and over the booth with his hazel eyes only half open, and honestly he looked a little green around the gills, as if the smell of the pizza was making him nauseous.

"You didn't even have breakfast," Logan said. James didn't answer. He looked absolutely pitiful.

"I'm hot," James suddenly whined, pulling off Kendall's hoodie and throwing it aside.

"Like, fever hot?" Logan asked, pushing his pizza away. His instincts were to get James home in bed, now. Something was wrong.

"I don't know," James said with a whimper. He didn't have the strength to be embarrassed when Kendall leaned over and pressed the back of his hands to James' forehead.

"You feel pretty warm," Kendall observed. "And sweaty…" he added, wiping his hand on his jeans. James was glistening with sweat, taking the appearance of just emerging from the shower. He groaned weakly.

"Can we just go home?" James asked hopefully.

"Sure buddy, let's go," Logan said, unfolding some bills in his pocket to pay for the pizza. Kendall wasted no time in helping James out of the booth, keeping a steady hand on his sweaty back for the entire walk back to the car. The guys drove home in silence, glancing at James every few minutes, just to make sure he was still alive being that the usually boisterous and talkative youngster was eerily quiet.

As soon as they arrived home, James made a beeline for his bedroom, and Kendall followed him in just to make sure he was alright. The blonde handed him a pair of pajama pants and a thin t-shirt. James stripped of his damp clothing and changed into the cool, clean pajamas.

"Thanks," James told Kendall, crawling under his sheets but kicking his blanket off his bed. Kendall picked up the blanket and placed it over James' body.

"You have a fever, you need to stay covered," Kendall said softly. James was too exhausted to remove the blankets. They were soft and cuddly, anyway.

"Do I have what Carlos had?" James asked Kendall as he shut off the lights.

"Probably," Kendall assured James, swiping a hand over his blazing forehead one more time.

"Which means I'll be better by tomorrow right? Like Carlos was better today?"

"Yeah, you'll be better in no time," Kendall said. James looked like sick, scared little boy. He couldn't help but to run his fingers through his chestnut colored locks lovingly. James nodded and finally closed his eyes. Within seconds, he was fast asleep.

**A/N So how was it? Good, bad, ugly? Lol. If you review I'll give you smarties. The giant kind. Literally my friend and I won giant sized smartie candies last night at an arcade and they were freaking amazing I didn't know those things existed. And then we crushed them all up and pretend to be snorting smartie powder and everyone was staring at us we had the whole restaurant staring at us omg they thought we were being legit but it was Just. Candy. Hahahaha. Somebody shut me up.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Lots of thanks for all of the reviews so far! Hope you like this chappie! This is really short but I think some cute Kames is involved ;) Sorry it's not long I don't have much time and I really wanted to update today so here we go! **

It was the middle of the night when James woke with a start, covered in sweat. He wasn't sure why he woke up so suddenly, but it could have had something to do with the way he was literally drenched in sweat and the waves of heat that rolled through his body. He was having another hot flash, just like he had earlier that evening. With a soft groan, James threw back his head against his pillow. He was miserable. Across the room, in his bed, Carlos lay snoring, probably because of his head cold. The snores were almost deafening, especially with the headache James felt coming on. There was no way he would be able to fall back to sleep now.

James crept out of bed, grabbed some dry clothes, and headed to the bathroom to take a cool shower to hopefully control his inner temperature. He had to do something about this intense hot feeling. As James was walking to the bathroom, Kendall was just coming out. He seemed half asleep, but his eyes widened when he saw James.

"James, hey," the blonde greeted in a soft voice. He noticed the clothes in James' arms an looked at him curiously. "What's up?"

"I need a shower," James said, coughing into the crook of his arm. Kendall winced at the dry sounding cough.

"At 2 in the morning? Are you still feeling bad, buddy?"

James nodded, his long damp hair flopping into his eyes with the movement. "I think I have a fever, Kendall."

Kendall frowned and moved forward, resting his hand on James' sweaty forehead. "Jeez, you're soaked, James! You're burning up, too. What hurts, buddy? Sore throat, headache?"

"My head kind of hurts. I feel all achy and hot and I think I have a cough."

Kendall turned around, heading back into the bathroom to search for some Nyquip to give to his feverish friend. "Take some of this, it will make you feel better and help you sleep."

James just nodded listlessly, holding the bottle loosely in his hands. Even though he just got up, he felt like he needed to sit back down.

"I'll be watching TV if you need me," Kendall told James, gesturing to the orange couch. He couldn't go to sleep without knowing James was alright, and at the moment, he did not look okay at all.

"'Kay," was James' only response. Kendall left the bathroom to give him some privacy. James turned on the cold water and just a little bit of warm water, stripped of his sticky clothes, and stepped under the luke-warm stream. He adjusted the temperature so it would be a little bit cooler, since he felt like he was internally on fire. He didn't shampoo or suds up, he just stared at the tile wall as the water beat down on him, wondering why he felt so sick.

Several minutes later, a knock on the bathroom door made James jump. He blinked heavily, realizing he was just moments away from falling asleep and collapsing in the tub.

"Yo James, time to get dressed," Kendall said, opening the door a crack. He was expecting a room full of steam, but instead the air was cool and humid. James peaked his wet head from around the curtain and gave his worried friend a small smile.

"Be out in a second."

"Okay. Take your medicine!" Kendall closed the door. James wrapped himself up in the towel. The cool water gave him some relief from the inferno burning inside of him, but not much. He downed a dose of medicine, praying it would fight his fever, and dressed in his clean pajamas.

"Kendall?" James asked weakly, walking into the hallway. Kendall smiled at him from the couch and waved.

"Over here! You good, bro?"

James didn't answer. He just approached the couch and sunk into the cushions, laying his head back and letting his eyes finally slip closed again. Kendall watched him, studying his appearance. He didn't look well. The shower put no rosy blush in his cheeks like it normally did, in fact he looked even more pale if that was possible. He was asleep within seconds. Kendall took the opportunity to search for a thermometer. When he found an oral thermometer in the bathroom, he sat next to James and pried his mouth open gently with his thumb.

"There we go, open up," Kendall whispered, placing the little device under James' tongue and holding it there until it beeped. The number read one hundred and one. Kendall couldn't remember the last time James had a fever this high. Sure he was known to get a couple of low –grade fevers under or around one hundred from time to time, but never a legit fever like this. But he was sure the medicine and some sleep would help him feel better. After all it was probably lack of sleep and too much physical exertion that caused the fever in the first place.

Kendall sighed and set the thermometer down so he could cover both of their laps with a blanket, figuring they'd both be on the couch for the night. He slowly lowered James into a more comfortable position, so he was lying down with his head rest on the arm rest and his feet on Kendall's lap. Kendall yawned loudly and settled down, drifting off slowly into a deep sleep with his sick friend close by and protected at his side.

**A/N Reviews would be lovely! And if you haven't already, check out my other new story Desiderium. It's kind of unusual from what I normally write but if you like Logan whump, you'll love this. Thanks for reading I promise next chapter will be longer!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N OK SO I LIKE FORGOT TO SAVE ALL THIS AND INSTEAD UPLOADED CHAPTER 3 BY ACCIDENT SO THAT'S WHY IM STUPID OKAY NOW THIS IS THE REAL CHAPTER 4. I THINK. IDK I HAVE LIKE 100 DOCUMENTS PEOPLE IM GOING TO DIE D: BUT THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO REMINDED ME THAT I AM STUPID AND SAVED THIS CHAPTER OR ELSE I WOULD HAVE GONE MY WHOLE LIFE THINKING I UPDATED CHAPTER 4 WHEN REALLY I UPDATED CHAPTER 3 AGAIN. **_I have issues okay?_

**A/N More Kames, anybody? ;)**

James tossed and turned with horrible nightmares for the remainder of the night, and all Kendall could do was just watch and try to comfort him in the best way possible. James was a large teenager, and the couch was small, so Kendall ended up awkwardly pulling the bigger boy onto his chest and holding his sweaty, shaky arms down to keep him from thrashing everywhere. The close, physical comfort soothed James as Kendall buried his face in the back of his neck and whispered words of encouragement into his ear.

"It'll be alright James, it was just a dream. Don't cry buddy," Kendall murmured, gently rocking side to side, a motion he learned early in life to calm his sick or scared baby sister after the death of his father.

James whimpered once and, still in the throes of a half sleep, let the swift rocking movements lull him fully back to sleep. Kendall sighed, glancing at the clock. It was 5 AM. Luckily, the guys had no commitments for the day, so he didn't have to be awake anytime soon. He was exhausted now, after staying up for several hours with his sick friend. And even if they had anywhere to be, Kendall wouldn't allow James to go anyway. It was the constant over-exertion that got his friend so ill in the first place. They all desperately needed a break before each of them ended up like poor James.

Assured that James was sleeping now, Kendall slowly pushed the brunet off his chest and back onto the couch. His body was boiling hot and very heavy. He was practically crushing Kendall.

"Ssh, ssh," Kendall whispered as he laid James against the cushions, propping his had up with pillows to ease his cough and wrapping a blanket around his shoulders. That's when the cold sweat started. James had been sweating all night, but nothing as bad as this. In an instant he was drenched and shivering violently, as if he had hypothermia. But his skin was hot, way too hot. Kendall was sure he'd seen nothing like it before. These torturous hot/cold flashes were baffling him.

Kendall quietly left the couch and sprinted to Logan's bedroom. Careful not to wake Carlos, who was still recovering from his cold, the blonde shook Logan's shoulder.

Logan groaned, blinking his eyes open only to see that his room was still dark. Kendall sighed with frustration when Logan curled up and hid his spiky little head back under the blankets.

"Logan, I need your help," Kendall hissed, shaking the tiny lump back awake. Logan made a growling noise in the back of his throat and stretched out like a baby kitten would, opening his heavy eyelids into slits.

"Wha?" He mumbled, smacking his lips.

"I don't know what to do with James. He's really sick. I gave him medicine but I don't think it's working."

Logan sat up groggily, trying to process this worrisome information. He grasped for his glasses, seeing as it was way too early for contacts, and rolled out of bed.

"Where is he?" Logan demanded, slipping on his bunny slippers.

"Couch," Kendall said, leading him to where James lay, shivering incessantly and coughing in his sleep. Logan's heart broke instantly. He had never, ever seen James this sick before.

"The poor thing's worn out," Logan commented, sitting beside his best friend and resting his palm on his forehead. "He's too hot. Can you get me a double dose of ibuprofen from the bathroom and that chest rub I made for coughs?"

Kendall nodded, obeying Logan's orders. Somehow, the teen always knew what to do when someone was sick and could cure cold and flu symptoms in a matter of hours. He trusted that he could fix whatever was wrong with James.

While Kendall was in the bathroom, Logan stroked James' hair and took his temperature. He was running a fever of 103.

"That's too high buddy," Logan muttered to himself. Kendall rushed back with the medicine and a bottle of cold water from the fridge. Logan gave him a small smile.

"Thanks Kendall. Can you prop his head up for me and place the pills on the back of his tongue?"

Kendall snaked an arm around James' slumbering form, lifting him up on the crook of his elbow. Logan tilted James' head back, and his jaw automatically dropped open in this position. Kendall placed the pills in his mouth, and Logan poured a bit of the cold water in James' mouth.

James shook violently at the frigid liquid and spluttered, shaking his head. Kendall looked at Logan, startled.

"No, no buddy you gotta swallow for me," Logan cooed, unperturbed by James' reaction to the medicine, knowing it was normal. He picked up the pills that had been spit out. "Kendall tilt his head back just a little more for me, but not too much or else his throat will close up."

Kendall put his fingers beneath James' chin and tilted until Logan nodded.

"That's perfect," Logan told him. He put the pills back in James' mouth and poured a bit of water in. Finally, James' automatically swallowed his medicine and began to snore.

"_Yes_," Kendall quietly cheered. He felt kind of like he was caring for his and Logan's sick child or something, which was weird. But James was just so helpless and feverish. Without their care, he would be in big trouble.

But Logan didn't join Kendall in his cheering. James was so ill. He couldn't help but to feel that it was kind of his fault, or rather, the bands fault. They had been so busy with little time for rest, and this was the consequence…

"Hey, he'll be alright," Kendall said, reading Logan's sad features.

"I know," Logan whispered, pulling down James' shirt a bit and rubbing his homemade chest rub on the pale skin. James whimpered and tried to squirm away from the cold substance, but calmed down when Logan rubbed his chest in soft, circular motions. "Well, that should soothe his cough. He should be good through the rest of the night. Maybe we can get some sleep?"

"I think I'll just stay here with him," Kendall said.

"I figured you might," Logan said with a vague, tired smile. "Make sure you at least try to rest or you'll end up like James and Carlos."

Kendall nodded, touching the scorching skin on James' arm. Still, the brunet shivered on, his teeth chattering a bit. "Why is he so freezing? Is this normal, for the chills?"

Logan shrugged. "I really don't know. Just keep him as warm as you can, hold him and make sure he's covered with blankets at all times. They should stop soon once the medicine starts working. Wake me if he gets any worse, okay?"

"Got it. Thanks Logan. Good night."

"Good night, bro. Good night, James," Logan said, running a hand over the sick boy's forehead one last time and carding his fingers through his hair, praying that he'd be better by morning.

**A/N I know that was short again! Next chapter, James will be much worse, and it won't be so crappy and short, so don't worry ;) Thanks for reading xoxoxox!**


	5. Chapter 5

When James woke early the next morning, before the sun even rose, he was sure of two things.

One was that he felt much worse than he had the night before.

And two; he was _freezing._

A whimper escaped James' chapped lips as he burrowed deeper into the couch. Shiver after shiver took over his body. He couldn't stop shaking. Suddenly, a warm blanket was wrapped snugly around his shoulders and a gentle hand was rubbing his back.

"Ssh, you're okay," the sound of Kendall's voice cooed. James closed his eyes, leaning into the touch, trying to suck as much warmth from the hand as he could.

"Kendall? You're here?" James said in a cracked voice, followed by a hacking, dry cough that burned deep in his chest.

"I've been here all night bro. How are you feeling?" The blonde asked, brow furrowed and green eyes wide with worry.

James slowly sat up, just a mound of shivering blankets. Kendall was alarmed to find his eyes were glassy and cheeks white as could be. This did not look like his tan and lively James anymore. He'd never seen him so sick before.

"Really awful, like I was hit by a truck." James replied, weakened just by the simple act of sitting upright. He leaned against the back of the couch, breathing heavily.

"You've been fighting a high fever all night. I couldn't get it down for nothing. You temperature would taper down a little bit, but then it would shoot right back up even higher than it was before."

James looked at Kendall apologetically. It was probably an extremely stressful night for Kendall, but he didn't remember any of it. "Is that why I'm so cold? Because I have a fever?"

"Yeah, that's why you feel so weak, too."

"Is it going to go away?" James asked hopefully, wondering how long this torture would last.

"Of course it will buddy. You just need to sweat it out and gain your strength back. I'm going to make you something to eat really quick. Just sit tight."

All James could do was nod. It's not like he could get up off the couch even if he wanted to, anyway. He curled his knees to his chest, burying his face in his blankets. His head was pounding in his skull. He hoped Kendall would come back soon.

"Hey James, you alright?"

James felt the couch bow under added weight. He moved his head slightly to see Carlos sitting beside him, eyes shining with concern. He slowly reached out to touch his friend with trepidation, afraid that touching him would only make his pain worse. To his surprise though, James leaned into his chest and just laid there motionless, eyed closed and pale lips pursed together. Carlos stroked his back gently, resting his chin on James' heated head.

"We need Logan," Carlos whispered when Kendall came back with some soup. Kendall nodded.

"Can you go wake him for me please?" Kendall asked quietly, taking James into his arms. The brunet looked like he was on the verge of falling asleep again. Carlos nodded and disappeared to wake up their knowledgeable friend.

"Hey buddy stay awake for a little bit, you need to eat. Logan's gonna come and make you feel better real soon, too." Kendall said, spooning up a bit of soup. James opened his eyes into half slits, staring at Kendall dazedly. He wasn't hungry at all, in fact his stomach was kind of starting to hurt, but he parted his lips slightly and swallowed the soup. It tasted bland and slimy.

"No more," James mumbled after 2 more bites. Kendall nodded understandingly and took the bowl away. At least he ate a little something.

"Can I sleep now?" James asked Kendall, a pleading yet exhausted edge to his voice. He just wanted to succumb to the sleep that was pulling on him to escape the misery he was in right now. His mother always used to tell him that sleep cured most anything, so maybe all he needed was some more of it and he'd be fine.

"Not yet bro," Logan said, moving into James' line of blurry vision. His brows were furrowed with concern and pity and his pale pink lips formed a tight, worried line as he studied his ill friend. "I need you to tell me everything that hurts."

James groaned. He didn't feel like talking, but the sooner he answered to doctor Logan, the sooner he could go to bed. "My head, my stomach. I'm so cold and everything feels achy." James let out another hacking cough. Logan winced.

"That cough does not sound good…"

"Does he have the flu?" Carlos asked. He remembered he had the flu a couple years ago. He was sick in bed and his mami had to take care of him for nearly a week. If James had what Carlos had gone through that one time, it was no wonder he was acting so sick. It had been horrible.

"Well, I'm not sure. The fever and the aches say the flu, but I don't really hear any congestion," Logan said. "James, do you have a sore throat? Heavy chest?"

James shook his head. He was really lacking any normal cold symptoms, his nose wasn't even stuffy or drippy. His cough was making his chest sore, but he wasn't congested in any way.

"What should we do?" Kendall asked, anxious to get James the medicine he needed.

"My guess is he just wore out his immune system. He's exhausted," Logan said, touching James' hot forehead. "We'll give him ibuprofen and try to keep his fever under control, see how he does. If he gets any worse I'd say we need to get him to a doctor."

"No, no doctor," James whined. He leaned into Kendall, as if to protect himself the idea of going to a hospital.

"Ssh, we'll try to fix you first," Logan said as he rubbed James' shoulder. He gave James another double dose of medicine and more water.

"Am I gonna start feeling better?" James asked, curling back up into the couch cushions.

"Soon," Logan assured him. "You're gonna be sick for a little while. These things don't just go right away. It's gonna take time to nurse you back to normal, but if you just listen to me and Kendall and Carlos, we'll get you all better, okay? You just have to let us baby you and help you, can you do that?"

James nodded, letting his eyes slip closed. Normally he loathed being babied by his friends, but this time he needed as much of their help and compassion as he could get.

**A/N Uh-oh even Logan doesn't think it's the flu and is a little bit baffled… Must be something bad! Neeheehee. Reviews would make me super happy! :') love you guys! **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Yikes, so sorry about the late update, guys. Work has been killing me. But better late than never, right?**

"Gustavo, you said we wouldn't have to worry about any responsibilities or obligations for the rest of the summer. It's been a couple of days. And already you want us to do another concert?" Logan whispered into his cellphone receiver. He couldn't believe his ears. Gustavo took it upon himself to book the guys a show for the next night- and without even asking, first!

"I know, Dog, but one of the headliners dropped out of SummerFest because of a broken leg and the promoters contacted me," Gustavo explained over the phone, and he actually sounded apologetic. "Things like this come up sometimes, it's part of becoming famous. You have to snag every opportunity you can get and Summerfest is one of the biggest pop shows in LA. You won't regret it. All the songs and moves are fresh in your head. All we need is a quick rehearsal in the morning and you boys will do fine. They are only requiring you to do 5 songs, top."

Logan sighed softly. James was right beside him, still sleeping off his fever. Logan quietly left the couch to move to the kitchen so he wouldn't wake James.

"I don't know Gustavo, James is really sick. His body is worn out and I'm afraid any more exhaustion will send him to the hospital. He has a high fever and a tight cough and he's been sleeping all day. And Carlos is just getting over something, too."

"Look, one more show and I promise to leave you dogs alone for the rest of the summer. I kind of got excited and already signed that Big Time Rush will play Summerfest," Gustavo said quickly.

"So basically we have no choice? Gustavo why would you sign anything without our consent? We aren't kids! We have a say in things, too. James can't perform!"

"Well maybe we can do 3 Time Rush this time?" Gustavo asked, his voice rising to a whine. He was desperate, Logan could tell.

"Logan? What's going on?" James asked, peeking his head over the couch to peer at Logan with weary, groggy eyes.

"Nothing, James. Go back to sleep," Logan instructed.

"But what's this about 3 Time Rush? Are you guys kicking me out of the band cuz I'm sick?" James asked, suddenly panicked. Logan rolled his eyes.

"No! James that's ridiculous! Well, I guess we kind of are, but just for one show! Gustavo wants Big Time Rush to perform at Summerfest tomorrow night. You're way too sick though."

"Summerfest? Isn't that one of the biggest pop festivals around?" James asked.

"Yes but you can't go," Logan said. James frowned.

"But Logan I'm sure I can play one show-"

"No way!" Logan argued, his eyes widening with wild disbelief. "Gustavo, let me call you back!" The brunet hung up the phone and stomped into the living room. "James you can hardly move! How on earth do you expect to be able to perform tomorrow night? The show is in…" Logan looked at his watch "28 hours. You look like the plague, James."

"But I'm feeling a bit better, Logan. And I know what you're gonna say but it's not just in my head. I really do feel better. All that sleep helped me."

Logan looked at James skeptically and placed a hand on his forehead. Surprisingly enough, his skin wasn't nearly as hot as it was earlier that morning. "That's weird, your fever seems to be breaking. How are you feeling? Achy, tired?"

"I feel kinda weak and my head hurts a little but other than that I think I'm okay. I'm even a little hungry. Can you make me something to eat?"

"Um, sure," Logan replied, genuinely shocked by how well James was doing. "Come on, let's go in the kitchen. What do you want to eat?"

James stood on shaky knees and followed Logan to the kitchen table. "Can I have grilled cheese? Please?"

Logan smiled at his friend and tousled his long hair. "Yeah, of course buddy. Maybe you are getting better. I still don't think performing tomorrow night is a good idea, though."

"What if I rest until the show? If I'm still doing better, will you let me perform?" James' honey brown eyes pleaded with Logan, his mouth turned down into a pout.

"I don't know yet, James," Logan said with confliction as he went through the motions of cooking a grilled cheese. "I mean, I don't want it to be 3 time rush any more than you do. It's hard to perform without you. But if it's your health that's at stake, then it's not worth it."

"So it's a 'we'll see'?" James asked hopefully.

"Only if you're better by morning, and if you get plenty of sleep today," Logan said firmly. He flipped James' grilled cheese over. Both sides were toasted, so he scooped the sandwich onto a plate and cut it into triangles before serving it to James.

"Thanks Logie," James said with the biggest smile Logan had seen in days. He took a small bite of his grilled cheese triangle and chewed.

"No problem, buddy. I'm going to go talk to Kendall about the show tomorrow. I'll be back to check on you in a bit. Eat that slowly so you don't get sick."

James gave Logan a thumbs up, mouth stuffed full of sandwich.

Logan gave James one last glance, still worried about his health. He couldn't tell if James was faking feeling better or not, but eating a meal was a good sign, at least. He headed down the hallway and knocked on Kendall's door.

"Come in!" Kendall called when he heard Logan's knocking. The brunet opened the door to find Kendall cross legged on his bed, strumming on a guitar with a pencil in his mouth and a notebook sprawled out in front of him.

"Hey, you writing a new song?" Logan asked, gesturing to the scribbled-in notebook.

"Yep! What's up, Loges?"

"I wanted to talk to you about James," Logan whispered, shutting their door. Kendall immediately set down his guitar, concern etched on his features.

"What is it? Is he okay?"

"Um, he's okay right now. That's the thing. He just woke up with an appetite and a low fever. He's eating and actually able to get off the couch and walk around."

"Oh, well that's a good thing, isn't it? Why do you seem so concerned?"

"Well, Gustavo sort of signed us on to play Summerfest..."

Kendall shrugged, confused. "Isn't that good news too, Logie? Gustavo was trying to get us to play Summerfest for months!"

"Summerfest is tomorrow night, Kendall."

"Ohhh," Kendall said slowly with recognition. "James can't perform tomorrow! He's sicker than I have ever seen him."

"He is showing signs of becoming better though," Logan said. "He's not as listless and weak. And he really wants to perform tomorrow. You know how he gets. Remember when he had food poisoning and snuck out of his hotel room to come all the way to the venue and perform a concert even though he was throwing up violently? James is relentless when it comes to this band, and it will break his heart if we decide to perform without him."

"Logan, did you look into James' puppy dog eyes again?"

Logan blushed and stared at his shoes sheepishly. "It's hard to look away! He just kind of sucks you in with his eyes. He looks so sad!"

Kendall groaned. "Logan you know better than to ever look James in the eyes!"

"I know! What do we do? Gustavo will kill us if we blow off the show. And I don't want James to be upset."

"We don't have to be the bad guys, Logan. Let's take him to a doctor. If the doctor says he's okay to perform, we'll let him. But if not, then we cancel the show. We'll just have let Gustavo be mad at us because I'm not performing without James. Big Time Rush just isn't the same unless there're all four of us on that stage."

"Agreed. Now go tell James."

"No, you can tell him," Kendall said.

"Why does it have to be me?" Logan whined, knowing that getting James to go to a doctor would be a fight.

"Because James will throw a tantrum and every time James is sick, I get to be the one who has to deal with his tantrums."

"That's 'cause he actually listens to you!"

Kendall groaned and slithered out of bed, dreading this talk with James. He pushed passed Logan while giving him a dirty glare and trudged to the living room.

However, as soon as he saw James curled up on the couch, his features softened a bit. James Diamond, the invincible, gorgeous, man-diva that he'd known his whole life was pale as snow. He looked like a vulnerable little child, not the rock star that he was known for. Kendall bent down and shook James awake. As soon as feverish hazel eyes opened into slits, Kendall took him into a big, comforting hug. At first, James was shocked by the brotherly action, but it didn't take long for him to melt into his arms.

"K-Kendall?" He asked, groggy and confused. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, buddy everything is fine. Logan said you're feeling better, and you even ate some lunch?"

James nodded. He was just starting to fall asleep after eating his sandwich so his mind felt slow and foggy.

"Look I know you might be feeling better but Logan and I both think you need to go see a doctor this afternoon. I want to take you to urgent care in a couple of hours."

James pulled from Kendall's embrace with panic. If there was one thing James despised, it was doctors (unless the doctor was Logan of course). The last time he had seen a doctor was when he had a hideous allergic reaction to Cuda products, and he had only went because he was desperate.

"I don't need a doctor, Kendall. I just have a cold. I'll be better in no time!"

"If you want to perform tomorrow, you're going to go to urgent care with me," Kendall said sternly. "We can't let you up on that stage without knowing you're okay. If a doctor approves a performance, then maybe Logan and I will consider it."

James frowned and buried his face in the couch, silently dismissing Kendall. He knew it would be useless to argue with Kendall, because the blond had that hard, stubborn look in his eyes that nobody had the power to break through, not even with using puppy eyes. He despised doctors with everything he had in him, but performing tomorrow was way more important than his stupid fears.

"James, stop sulking," Kendall said with a sigh, nudging his shoulder. James shrugged him off.

"No, I wanna sulk. Leave me alone," James mumbled, his voice muffled by the couch cushions.

"It's really not that big of a deal to go see a doctor," Kendall said gently. Although he was annoyed by James' pouting, he didn't want to leave the sick boy wallowing in self-pity. He knew how much James was disturbed by doctors, and making him worry about an upcoming visit would just get him sicker. "I'll be right with you the whole time, and they'll make you feel better. Don't you wanna feel good again? Being sick is no fun. We want our fun-loving crazy James back, and the sooner you see a doctor and get some medicine, the sooner you will be back. We don't want to see you suffering on the couch when all you need is some antibiotics. So, no more pouting?"

James rolled over onto his back to face Kendall. "'Kay, we'll go to the doctor. But I'm not happy about it!"

**A/N Hmm, I wonder if James' doctor visit is going to reveal anything… I'll get the next chapter up asap! Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it. Reviews mean everything to me! xoxoxo**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N Whoa look a fast update! Rejoice! Um this isn't proof read because I have to leave to go to Winter Jam now (YES MY 2****ND**** FAVORITE BAND, RED, IS PLAYING TONIGHT AND I HAVE A FEVER AND COLD BUT WHO CARES I MUST SEE THEM. IT'S GOING TO BE CRAY I CAN NOT WAITTTTTNGJKDFNBVFNB)**

Logan anxiously counted away the minutes that Kendall and James had been gone while he cooked up a huge pot of chicken noodle soup for everybody's dinner. He wished he could have gone with the two older boys to Urgent Care, but he had to stay home with Carlos, who was settled on the couch playing video games. And besides that, Logan knew James would only be comfortable going to the doctor with Kendall. He didn't take that personally, though. He knew since the beginning of their friendship that Kendall and James had a unique bond. They were different than Logan and Carlos. Stronger, braver. And they only ever let that guard down to each other. It was like a pride thing.

Suddenly Logan heard the sounds of the front door opening and shutting. He dropped his wooden spoon that he was stirring the soup with to the counter and hurried to greet his friends.

"I'm back from the doctor!" James announced cheerfully, and Logan detected the most energy in his voice that he heard in a long time.

"James!" Carlos cried, lunging off the couch to attack James in a huge hug. Kendall caught the small boy easily and pushed him back.

"Whoa there buddy, easy. He's still not feeling one hundred percent," Kendall said. Carlos smiled apologetically to James.

"Hey, how did it go?" Logan asked, leading James to the couch to sit down. He still looked a bit too gray and weak for his liking.

"Good, they gave me a sucker," James chirped, holding up a bright red lolly.

Logan smiled and patted his head, then averted his eyes to Kendall. The blond didn't appear too worried, though.

"What's the news? Did the doctor say anything?"

"Nothing serious," Kendall replied. "No sinus or chest infection, no flu virus. The doc said James had literally just worn himself out, just like we suspected. His fever is below 100 now."

Logan pressed the back of his hand to James' head, furrowing his brow in concentration. He did feel considerably cooler. "Hmm, and what about his tight cough? Did he say anything about that?"

"Nope, he just gave James some cough syrup and instructed him to take fever reducer regularly and that he should be back to health in a couple of days," Kendall said with a smile.

"The doc said that if my fever stays at 99 or below I can perform tomorrow," James said brightly.

"We'll see," Logan said. "I don't want you to relapse-"

"But Logie, you already said I could if I was feeling better!" James argued.

"I know, I know, it's not an indefinite 'no' yet, James. Calm down. How are you feeling? Tell me everything."

"Just a little sore, and my head still hurts," James said truthfully. He really was feeling much better now that his fever had gone. Maybe his illness had really gone earlier than they expected it would, thank God.

"Would you say you're hungry enough for some dinner?" Logan asked. "I made soup to keep us all healthy and strong for the show tomorrow."

"Yep!" James said. "Hey Carlos, you wanna play me in 'Spaghetti Hero; Rise of the Demon Meatballs'?"

"You bet!" Carlos yelped excitedly.

"Play quietly," Logan said. "Dinner will be ready in 15 minutes. And after dinner I want you to go straight to bed, James."

"Dude, it's only 6 0 clock," James said, blushing. It was weird to have his best friend ordering him around like his mother. But, he guessed, since all of their mothers were in Minnesota, somebody had to do their job.

"And I want you asleep by 7:30. No 'buts'," Logan said.

"Ooooohhhh," Carlos taunted. James elbowed him in the ribs.

After whooping Carlos' butt and drowning him in acid meat sauce, James joined his buddies at the dinner table. He was a little hungry, but after a couple of bites, his stomach wasn't feeling so good. However, he didn't want to say anything. He was just starting to get better. Why worry his friends any further?

Logan noticed, though, when everyone was on their second bowl of soup and had gone through nearly a whole loaf of bread and butter, and James was only half finished with his soup.

"Not hungry, James?" Logan asked.

"Oh, um, yeah, I'm still working on it," James said. He had kind of spaced out for a moment. He lifted his spoon and slurped another bite of soup. But it tasted slimy to him. He made an icky face.

"It's ok, J. Don't push yourself," Logan said softly, taking the bowl from James, who looked up at him thankfully. "I don't expect you to be able to eat as much as you normally do yet. Go on and get a shower. I'll be in your room to check on your fever and give you some medicine in a little bit."

"Thanks Logan," James said. "Good night, Kendall. Night, 'Litos."

"Night bud," Kendall said, giving his shoulder a squeeze. Carlos hugged James good night tightly.

James ran a hot bath and waited impatiently for the water to fill to the top. He was very tired, even though he had slept all day and hadn't done much. He was used to several hours of dance rehearsals and vocal lessons a day, on top of the crazy antics and parties that he and the guys did on a daily basis. It was unusual to be so exhausted, and he didn't like it all.

James squired some bubbles into the running bath water, stripped of his warm and sweaty clothes, and lowered himself into the hot, welcoming water. Immediately, his muscles relaxed. He sighed with relief. Who knew a hot bath would help so much?

James sunk down into the water, bending his knees so that his chest was submerged and only his head was over the water. He leaned back and rested his eyes for a few minutes, letting the water soak away the remnants of his fever and illness.

More time must have passed than he thought, because a knock on the door jolted him out of his half sleep. He sat up, sloshing a bit of water and over the edge of the tub.

"James, can I come in?" Kendall asked from behind the door.

"Um sure," James replied, making sure there were enough bubbles in the tub to cover everything. Kendall poked his head into the small room.

"Jeez, it feels like a sauna in here," Kendall gasped, practically choking on the humidity. "You doing okay in here?"

"Great," James said.

"Logan wants you to get some sleep now. You've been in here for a little while."

"Yeah I think I fell asleep," James replied sheepishly.

"That's okay, bud. Here you go." Kendall handed him a fluffy towel from the bathroom closet. "See you tomorrow."

"See you," James said. He waited for Kendall to leave before pulling the drain and standing up. His muscles felt kind of like jello. He hoped that by morning the weakness would be gone and maybe he'd finally have a little strength.

James stepped out of the tub and went to scrub off the left over bubbles from his bare skin with his towel, but a sudden ache in his left side sent him doubled over, fingers grasping the sore area.

"Ow," James whimpered quietly, trying to rub the soreness away. Soon he was able to stand up, but his stomach felt a little sick. He glanced in the mirror to find his skin was a sickly gray color and his eyes lackluster. Maybe Kendall and Logan were right, he was still sick. Maybe he wasn't even getting better at all.

James experimentally pressed his fingertips against his stomach where the pain was coming from, right underneath his ribs. The dull ache shot to an intense, sharp pain for just a moment. James gasped and removed his fingers at once. It really, really hurt. His first thought was to tell Logan. He could make the pain go away, surely. But then he remembered the concert tomorrow. He couldn't make the guys freak out over a little stomachache when they would need to be concentrating on the huge concert. If it still hurt tomorrow night, he decided, he would tell them. After the concert, though.

"Jamie? What are you doing in there?" Logan asked, knocking rapidly on the door.

"Nothing, just um… Shaving!" James said quickly. There was silence at the door for a few seconds, and then;

"Shaving? But it's the middle of the evening." Logan sounded very confused. James winced.

"You're right, never mind, I think I'll shave tomorrow then! I will be out in a minute!"

Logan blinked, flabbergasted, but left James to be, well, James.

James dressed in his pajamas and made his way to his bedroom. He practically melted into the softness of his bed, instantly tired. Logan came in moments later with water and medicine and a thermometer.

"Open up," Logan instructed, sticking the device in his mouth. James rolled his eyes. He was tired of getting his temperature taken so often.

"You alright?" Logan asked as he tucked a long strand of wet hair behind James' ears. James nodded.

"I'm okay, why?" He mumbled around the thermometer.

"You just don't look so good."

The thermometer beeped. James took it out and read the numbers. "Ninety-nine point five. See, I'm okay, Logan. The thermometer don't lie. That's what you always say, anyway."

Logan shrugged, unconvinced. Something just didn't seem right about James. "I know. Come on, take your medicine." Logan handed James his pills and a cup of cough syrup, which he took distastefully.

"What's wrong, Logan?" James asked after a moment. Logan was being unusually quiet and kind of weird.

"Nothing, just get some sleep, okay?" Logan said.

"No, tell me, Logie. You're thinking hard about something. I can tell. You always get all stiff and quiet whenever something is bothering your brain. So what's wrong?"

Logan sighed. "I'm just worried over you. I guess I'm not used to you being this sick."

"You say yourself that everyone gets sick though," James said with a yawn.

"I know. And you'll be better in no time," Logan said with a smile. He rubbed circles on James' back to soothe him. "Get some sleep, buddy. Call me if you need anything."

James nodded, his eyes already closed and mind drifting. "Night-night, Logie," he mumbled.

Logan kept rubbing his back until soft snores could be heard from James' mouth and his breathing was steady. He turned out the lights and tiptoed to the hallway, closing the door gently behind him.

"Is he okay?" Kendall asked, seeming to pop up out of nowhere.

"Jesus- ssh," Logan hissed, startled. He pulled Kendall into the bedroom that they shared.

"He seems to be doing better tonight, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, I guess," Logan said, scratching the back of his neck. Kendall gazed at him questioningly.

"He's been eating and his fever is low. Those are good signs, right?"

"Yeah, but he just looks so _sick_ Kendall. Like seriously sick. And his symptoms, they're kind of throwing me off. I don't know. I'm just… I have this scared feeling in the pit of my stomach. Like something is seriously wrong with James and I have had this feeling for days now I just never thought anything of it, but what if I'm right and-" Logan's voice broke as he spoke faster and faster with each sentence. Kendall grabbed his shoulders.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down bro," Kendall said. "What are you going on about? I mean I hate seeing him so sick just as much as you do, but his symptoms aren't that crazy. Fever, headache, chills? Sounds like a typical bug to me."

"It's the pattern they are presenting themselves in, Kendall. And don't forget his cough. It sounds like a seal bark. Yet he doesn't have a stuffy nose, sore throat, congestion, nothing."

"Logan, stop freaking out. We took him to a doctor and they said he was going to be okay. Look, we'll give it another day or two. If he's not improving we will take him back to the doctor. But he can beat this. He'll be okay, he always is. You need to get some sleep now before you end up as sick as James is." Kendall pushed Logan into bed and brought his covers up to his shoulders. "_Good night."_

**A/N Logan should really trust his tingling doctor instincts. Reviews, anybody? It takes 60 seconds to leave a review. It took me 4 hours to write this chapter. Sounds fair ;) (Also I'm really excited for next chapter cuz it's even whumpier than this one and bad things might happen sdknvffegneig) xoxoxo**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N Omg thanks so much for all of the reviews, guys! I love reading your guesses… I put out several clues throughout every chapter but they are like super hard. So make sure to look with both your eyeballs and maybe you can find what is happening to James. **

**Ok but before we start this chapter can I make an announcement? It's super important to me: yesterday I got accepted into college! This is a huge deal/step in my life and I'm so ecstatic that I finally get to do this! I dug myself out of a huge hole and things are really starting to look up. I still have sooo freaking far to go but it's going to be awesome and I also wanted to thank each and every one of you for being there for me through it all. You guys have seriously been my rock for the past couple of years. And you know, just because you might be at the lowest of your lows, it's okay because all you can go from there is up. There's always time to pull yourself up and make things alright. Ok ok I love you guys please enjoy this cruddy short chapter xoxo**

Carlos shot straight up in bed, his heart pumping with alarm. He had been sleeping peacefully, but a loud thump resounding in the small room, followed by whimpering, forced him awake. He scanned the dark room, trying to make out the familiar shapes and shadows in the soft moonlight shining through the curtains.

The first thing he noticed, was that James was not in his bed. Instead he was on the floor, tossing and writhing in his blankets, his face scrunched up as if he were in pain.

"James!" The Latino cried out, turning on a lamp and jumping to his friend's aide. He landed on his knees next to James and reached out to touch his shoulder, but James let out an ear piercing, strangled scream. Carlos flinched back, terrified.

"Logan! Kendall!" Carlos shrieked.

"We're here! What's going on?" Logan asked breathlessly. Apparently they were both woken up by the scream and were already on their way to James' room before Carlos had even called for them.

"I don't know, Logan! I woke up and he was just on the floor, freaking out," Carlos explained, his eyes wide and shiny, as if he were on the verge of tears.

"Oh my God," Kendall muttered, completely frazzled as he watched James scream again and pound his fists on the wood floor. He immediately went into action by scooping James into his arms and holding him tightly around the shoulders. He used his free hand to lightly tap James' face.

"James, hey you need to wake up now, buddy!" He encouraged. James didn't budge. He was still caught in whatever horrible dream he was in. Kendall gently grasped his cheeks with his thumb and forefinger, begging him to open his eyes and look at him, but James' head just hung limply to the side. He screamed one more time and let out a heart wrenching sob.

"Why isn't he waking up?" Logan whispered in a high-pitched squeak. Carlos put his arm around Logan's shoulders, even though he was just as scared as the brunet was.

"James! Snap out of it!" Kendall barked, giving him a couple of jarring shakes. James' eyes snapped opened. He blinked at Kendall, for several moments unseeing, until finally it clicked in his brain that he was awake and safe now.

"G-guys," James whimpered. His hand flew up to his aching head. Kendall pressed him to his chest and rocked him ever so slowly. Logan and Carlos apprehensively crawled towards the taller boys.

"It's over James. You just had a nightmare," Logan assured him, and his soft, nurturing voice calmed James a little. He was panting and shaking. He didn't feel like himself. He felt just as scared now as he had in his nightmare, even though he knew he was in reality now.

"I-it was so real," James choked out. "Like it was really happening to me. Everything was in flames. I wanted to wake up but I couldn't." A single tear rolled down his pale cheek, and he quickly wiped it away. How stupid was he for crying in front of his friends over a nightmare?

"Kendall, can you take Carlos to our room and put him in my bed? I think I'd like to stay with James for tonight," Logan said softly, turning to his trusted best friend. Kendall nodded, passed James to Logan, and tugged on Carlos' arm.

"Come on buddy, Logan's got it from here."

Carlos gave James one last worried glance and followed Kendall to bed. Logan sighed and helped James back into his bed, his mind frantic as he rearranged the tousled mess of blankets.

"You're worried," James observed. He coughed into his fist, his ribs feeling as if they were going to explode.

"It was just a nightmare. You're alright now," Logan said. He sat beside James' legs, tucking him in. "Comfy?"

James nodded. He started to cough again, though. The hacks were really starting to get annoying. He moaned into his hand and fell back against his pillows, exhausted. "I don't…" James started, but he trailed off, averting his gaze from Logan's.

"'You don't' what, buddy?" Logan urged him anxiously. It wasn't often that James would admit his weakness.

"I-I don't feel right, Logie. I want to get better." James' voice cracked. He couldn't help but be overly emotional from feeling so achy and tired, especially after that nightmare. He wasn't used to being sick.

"Oh, James you're gonna get better," Logan said sympathetically. He patted his cheek, frowning when he found the skin to be warmer than it was just hours ago. He laid his hand against his forehead. "You're running a fever again…"

"Can I have some more medicine?" James asked, nodding towards the bottle of fever reducer on his bedside table. Logan handed him a couple of pills and his glass of water, watching as his friend took the medicine.

"Better?" Logan wondered, taking the glass of water from his hands. James shrugged. They sat in silence for a moment. James was trying to get comfortable again, and Logan just wanted to stay with him until he was okay with falling back to sleep.

"I think it's best if you don't perform tomorrow," Logan suddenly blurted. James looked up sadly, but agreed with him. At this rate, he did not feel well enough to rehearse and get on a stage to dance and sing all night, something that took an insane amount of stamina and endurance. He just did not have it in him. "I'm really sorry, James."

"It's not your fault bro," James mumbled. "As long as you guys don't forfeit 'cuz of me. We've performed without each other before. We've played hockey matches without each other. You don't need me up there, even if you think you do. You don't."

"James that's completely untrue. We _want _you up there with us. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know," James said, but he seemed unsure.

_Where was this coming from?_ Logan thought to himself. James always had amazing confidence. But being sick does that to a person, he guessed. Right now, James was vulnerable in more ways than one.

"Listen, the only thing that's important to me right now is you. I don't care about that stupid concert tomorrow. If you want us to stay home with you, that's completely fine. We won't be mad." Logan leaned over and gave James a light kiss on the forehead. "We just want you to get better."

**A/N Urghh this was meant to be much longer but I'm going to have to break it down cuz I gotta get to the studio. Sorry! Next chap up soon I promise! I've been noticing I have a few new readers and reviewers, so I wanted to say hi and you all can follow me on twitter Channy_Girl20 **** Thanks so much for reading everybody! xoxoxo**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N Okay guys. So… We didn't win. I know this is kind of late but I still can't stop thinking of how absolutely shocked and appalled I was when they so sneakily practically whispered that BTR lost the choice awards. Yes I'm upset but our love for them is not defined by some dumb orange blimp. Screw Nickelodeon. They're bastards. But BTR will always be our number one. And for anyone who thinks for one moment it was us fans who lost BTR the award and is feeling saddened by this, you are wrong. We won this thing and all that matters is we know it and the boys know it. Nothing else matters. **

**Also the music video was adorable and Logan is sexy ok bye**

**Also thanks for all the reviews I love you xxxxxx okay now I am done bye and enjoy this crap of a chapter lolol**

"James, are you _sure _you're okay with us playing the show tonight?" Logan asked for the umpteenth time as he tended to a pot of oatmeal. It was currently late morning. The rest of the night had gone by quickly. James had rested peacefully and nightmare free. Now the guys were all seated around the kitchen table, waiting for breakfast. James was snug in a hoodie and pair of pajama pants, while the other guys were dressed for rehearsals. Logan couldn't help but notice how small James appeared at the table next to Kendall. Even though they were both around the same height, James was always so much bigger. Wide shoulders, broad chest, buff arms. But for some reason, this morning, he looked so tiny. It was obvious he was losing weight rapidly over the past few days, and his usually tan complexion was an awful shade of grey.

"Logan, _please_ stop asking me that. I will be fine. I don't need you guys to watch over me every moment of the day, okay? I'll be in the dressing room just chilling and resting. No big deal, right?"

Logan shrugged, unconvinced. It was hard to give his sick friend space when his health was in such a fragile state.

"As long as he's in close distance so we can check up on him, I don't see the big deal," Kendall commented as he unpeeled a banana. They always ate a huge breakfast before the show, it was tradition. Fruit, oatmeal, bacon, toast. Anything to keep them going through such a busy day.

Logan sighed and set a huge serving bowl of his famous oatmeal on the table for his friends. Kendall and Carlos immediately dug in. James however made a displeased face. His stomach was still bothering him from that weird fit he had in the bathroom the other night. Food was unappealing at this point.

"Not hungry?" Logan asked.

James shook his head. "No, my stomach kinda hurts."

Immediately, 3 pairs of eyes shot up to stare at James worriedly, as if they were just waiting for him to admit he was in pain. James blushed and sunk down in his chair.

"It's nothing bad," he lied. "I'm just not hungry."

"That's alright. Just try to eat a banana or something," Logan said.

James nodded and reached for a piece of fruit. He couldn't help but notice how _tired_ Logan sounded. In fact, how tired they a_ll _looked. He had been wearing them all out these past few days, and he felt guilty for it too. His friends just wanted a break. They didn't ask for a sick person to take care of on top of everything else stressful in their lives.

-BTR-BTR-BTR

Dress rehearsal went off without a hitch later that afternoon. They all removed the moves, quick changes, and vocals perfectly since their recent tour, and James slept the whole time in the dressing room. Logan was a bundle of nerves, his eyes constantly darting to the hallway where James slept only a couple of doors down. Immediately after rehearsal, Logan raced down the hall and opened the dressing room door quietly. James was fast asleep on the couch, snoring loudly, clutching a blanket to his chest as if he were a child.

"See, he's fine," Kendall whispered form behind Logan, starling the brunet.

"Kendall! Don't sneak up on me like that. And he doesn't look fine. He doesn't look right at all," Logan observed softly. He couldn't quite place his finger on it, but James was a ghastly color far from his normally tan complexion.

"He needs sleep, Logan. He'll be alright in a few hours. Give him time to rest," Kendall assured Logan, giving him a squeeze on the shoulder. He turned around, heading towards the green room to tune his guitar.

"Logan!" A familiar voice called down the hall. He turned to see Kelly waving at him, smiling. He managed a small smile back.

"Hi Kelly, what's up?"

"Wardrobe needs you, there's a slight malfunction. They need to retake your measurements and ask your opinion on something."

Logan sighed, hesitant to leave James. But then he remembered Kendall's words, that all James needed was sleep. After all, it was the best medicine. He never thought Kendall could be so wrong.

"Yo Logan it's almost time for sound check," Kendall called, poking his head into the quick change room, where Logan was standing with his eyes cringed as several ladies poked and pricked him with their sewing needles.

"I'll be just a moment," Logan replied, right when one of the costumers accidently poked Logan in the rump with her needle. He let out a high pitched squeak. "Ow! Can you aim the needle a_way _from my flesh, please?"

The lady mouthed a 'sorry' and Kendall chuckled.

"What's the hold up, dude?"

"Carlos apparently dropped his juice box on my leather pants so they have to take in a pair of James' leather pants since that was my last pair that Carlos hadn't ruined," Logan explained, rubbing his temples. He just wanted this night to be over with so they could all go home. "Hey, can you do me a favor and check on James for me, make sure he's alright?"

"Yeah no problem," Kendall said. He waved to Logan and made his way to their dressing room, expecting to find James still sleeping on the couch like he had been all day. But instead, his best friend was hunched over a trashcan, vomiting violently, his entire body shaking with the effort.

"James! Oh my God!" Kendall cried out, rushing to help him, but there wasn't much he could do except rub his back and his sweat-logged hair away from his face. James looked up, face pale and grey, tears pushing out from behind his dull, hazel eyes.

"I'm okay," he rasped, which Kendall found utterly ridiculous because he was obviously anything _but_ okay right now.

"Yeah yeah, buddy. Let's just lay you down, okay? Jeez, you can hardly stand up…" Kendall wrapped an arm around James' ribcage and practically dragged him to the couch before dropping him onto the cushions. "What the heck just happened?"

James groaned loudly and curled into the cushions weakly. "I-I don't know, Kendall. I was asleep and then all of a sudden my stomach just started to hurt."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Kendall asked softly, pressing his hand to James' heated forehead.

"Because it happened so fast. I barely had time to make it to the trashcan. But my stomach feels better, I swear."

There was a moments silence between the two teens as Kendall assessed James' red, glowing cheeks and feverish eyes that were basically begging for help. Why couldn't James just accept the help he so desperately needed? Why did he have to be so damn stubborn?

"Kendall? I swear I'm fine. It's just the flu," James said. Kendall thought he sounded like a little child. "Play the show tonight, have fun. Worrying about me won't make me any better."

Kendall's eyes flashed with some kind of anger mixed with compassion and love and disbelief. "James, you have to be kidding me if you can think we can have a good, fun time while you're back here puking your guts out. I'm going to go get Logan."

"No!" James reached out and grabbed Kendall's wrist with shaky, cold fingers. "Please, don't. He'll make me go to a doctor. He acts insane when one of us gets more than a cold. Remember when he stayed up for 72 hours straight last time you had the flu? The kid doesn't let up. I'm too sick to deal with it. Just let me sit here in my misery. I'll be okay."

Kendall groaned with conflict, moving James' fingers so he held his hand, giving the weak fingers a squeeze before releasing them. "Ok James. Get some sleep. And if you start feeling any worse, just get me on my in-ears." Kendall pointed to his rainbow-colored headpiece. Just then, Gustavo tuned in and called Kendall backstage. "I have to go buddy. Promise you'll call me?"

"I promise," James coughed out. All he wanted to do now was sleep. Kendall gave him one more concerned look before running out to greet his screaming fans.

**A/N Ok I hate this chapter or I don't even know because I have been working on it for three weeks and I haven't read it yet so Idk what even happens I just know it was a butt to write. And I have to go. I LOVE YOU GUYS AND I AM GOING TO WRITE SOME MORE CHAPTERS OF IDK DESIDERIUM AND STUFF THIS WEEK YAY OK BYE AND REVIEW I LOVE YOU**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N Hi I'm back! Yeah I know I have been gone for sooo long but I finally got this chapter together. Hopefully it was worth the wait.**

**I also realized that 193 of you have added me as your favorite author! That's insane! I'm so excited! So I decided in apologies for taking such long absences, I will write a story for my 200****th**** author who favorites me! Any story you want me to write in the BTR or Austin/Ally fandom, I will write it for you!**

Anxiety pulsed through Kendall's veins as he half-heartedly sang through "Windows Down." The boys were over halfway through with their set, but Kendall couldn't wait any longer. He had this gut-wrenching instinct to check on James, that something was terribly wrong with his best friend.

When the song was finally finished, the worried blonde sprinted across the stage to Logan, who looked up at him in alarm.

"Kendall, what's wrong?" The doe-eyed brunet asked, pushing his mic away from his face.

"I shouldn't have left him back there," Kendall said breathlessly, his cheeks flushed and chest heaving. Logan shook his head in confusion.

"What are you talking about? You're not making sense…" Logan glanced nervously at the audience, then switched his gaze to Carlos, who was watching the two older boys converse, his eyebrows furrowed in curiosity and concern. He pointed towards the fans, whose cheers were slowly dying down as they waited for the boys to do something. Carlos got the hint and began chatting to the crowd, joking around with them and keeping them occupied.

"James, I'm talking about James!" Kendall explained impatiently.

"You said Jamie was fine just before the show and that he's resting peacefully. You told me not to be worried. Is there something you didn't tell me?"

Kendall looked downwards guiltily. "He begged me not to tell you but I know something's not right with him. He's not okay. I need to check on him. I can't go on with the rest of the show without knowing if he's okay back there."

Logan sighed, torn between what to do. He had been going through with the show believing James was fine, but they couldn't just stop the show. Of course, they would if they had to. They'd do anything for James.

"Just cover for me out here, okay?" Kendall pleaded. "I have been trying to reach him with the in-ears but he's not responding and I'm freaking out."

"Okay man, go. We got it out here. Let me know what's going on as soon as you talk to James. We'll call an ambulance if we have too."

Kendall nodded and ran off stage, past the sound and lighting crew, ignoring the odd looks they gave him. He didn't care about the concert anymore, all he cared about was James, and he knew he was stupid and selfish to perform knowing James was in such a bad condition.

"James, are you alright?" the frenzied blonde demanded, throwing open the dressing room door, only to find an empty couch where James had just been sleeping.

"Jamie?" Kendall called, checking the nearest bathroom. No sign of his sick best friend. He roamed the hallway, growing more and more panicked as every second passed. He couldn't even wrap his mind around what might have happened to his friend. It wasn't like James to just go missing like this.

"James!" Kendall practically screamed, searching the vast, quiet hallway. He came to the end of the hall, reaching a wide opened door, a strong wind blowing in pounding rain. The floor was soaked at the doorway. Kendall stepped out of the building, his eyes darting around the back of the venue. He could hardly see a thing through the darkness and the rain.

"James! Where are you, buddy?" Kendall called over the rain, praying for an answer this time. He waited a moment, moving his already rain-sogged bangs out of his eyes.

"_Yo, Kendall everything okay back there?" _Logan's staticy voice came through Kendall's earpiece. He ignored Logan, deciding to press on through the rain for James.

"James where are you?" Kendall cried, his voice breaking from yelling from him so much. Mud sprayed over his jeans as he stomped through the puddles. Several feet ahead of him, he saw a dark figure on the grass. Kendall gasped. The figure was moving, and whoever it was seemed to be chatting. Kendall could hear a faint voice over the rain. As he moved closure, he could tell for sure that it was in fact James, for whatever reason, sitting on the grass, as if it wasn't pouring rain outside.

"James! Why haven't you been answering me?" Kendall scolded, lowering himself to his knees on the squishy grass. Again, James didn't answer Kendall. Instead, he stared right past him, his lips moving as he spoke softly to somebody who wasn't even there. Kendall looked over his shoulder, then back to James. He waved his hand in front of the sick boy's blank face.

"Buddy? Who are you talking to?" Kendall asked in a tiny, scared voice.

James began to cough violently. Kendall hesitantly scooted closer to James and put his arms around his best friend's heaving shoulders. James continued to hack, but leaned into Kendall's embrace, as if he was somewhat aware of his best friend's presence. Kendall slowly rocked James, pressing his face into his dark, wet hair.

"James, what's wrong with you buddy?" Kendall cried, scared out of his mind now as James began to mutter to himself again. Kendall let out a small sob, knowing that who he was holding tightly in his arms for dear life was not who his best friend used to be.

**A/N I know that was short, but I have to do my hair and makeup for dance pictures, and I really wanted to post this tonight. Um I think the next chapter reveals what James has. You won't want to miss it! **

**Also who got their tickets for BTR this summer? I bought VIPS for Dallas! I was going to get VIPS for OKC too, but I can't go to both and go to dance school this summer D: But I'm just as excited! I miss their stupid faces ugh. **

**And lastly, please review! It's been so long since I've heard from all of you since I haven't been posting and I miss ya'll! xxxxx**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N Hi all you awesome readers! So thankful for all of the reviews last chapter! And guess what? I'm 4 away from my 200****th**** favorite! And the 200****th**** author who favorites me gets a one-shot of their choice written for them! Wheeee. Lot's to be revealed this chapter… I'm excited! On with it then!**

"What's happening?" Logan rasped out, barely able to even hear his soft voice over the roar of panic in his ears and the rush of rain pouring from the stormy sky. After Kendall hadn't returned his and Carlos' frantic calls over their in-ears, the two smallest boys had made the decision to leave the stage and search for Kendall and James, fearing the worst. Those fears had come true when they found the blonde cradling James in his arms.

One look at James and Logan knew something was terribly wrong. He was almost lifeless in Kendall's arms and his skin was a sickening shade of gray. He was mumbling under his breath, staring off at something only he could see. Logan could tell that James wasn't with them right now.

"Call 911," Kendall replied, running his long fingers through James' soaked hair, trying to comfort him.

"We have to get him out of this rain," Logan said, barely registering Kendall's demand.

Kendall's head snapped up to make eye contact with Logan. He raised his voice slightly. "I said call 911!"

"I will! But we need to get him out of this rain right now!" Logan shot back. Normally, he became timid when anybody raised their voices at him, but now he was going into doctor mode. "I will grab this side of him, you take the other." Logan snaked his arms around James' left, holding tightly to his arm and leg. It took Kendall a second to regain composure, but he blinked and followed suit, slowly lifting James off the wet, muddy ground.

Carlos, who grew quiet with fear this entire time, held open the doors as Kendall and Logan struggled to carry James in a half-run back into the venue. While they got him situated on the couch, Carlos ran to find some towels and brought them back, patting him the sick, wet boy down. Logan was on the phone, talking in a low, stressed voice, obviously calling for help for James. Kendall still had a tight grip on James with no plans on letting go anytime soon.

"He's burning up," Carlos observed as he dried James off. Kendall chewed on his bottom lip until he was close to drawing blood. Carlos was right. James' skin was scorching, as if he had just sat in an oven for a while rather than being drenched in a rain storm.

"What on earth were you doing out there buddy?" Kendall asked. He didn't expect an answer, but to their surprise, James let out a tiny sob.

"I'm looking for him. I can't find him…" James whispered in a broken voice.

"Who can't you find, buddy?" Carlos asked. He had never heard James sound like this before.

"Kendall," James whispered, and more tears flowed down his pale cheeks until he was sobbing, choking out random words as he cried. "I can't… I can't… He's not there…"

Kendall brought James into a huge embrace, pressing him against his chest. "James, what are you talking about, I'm right here!" Kendall assured James in a pleading voice.

"He's delirious," Logan said, having hung up the phone and joining his friends on the couch while they waited for an ambulance. Kendall looked at him, confused. He didn't quite know what delusional meant.

"He's having hallucinations. He's not in his right mind," Logan explained. "It's the fever. It's dangerously high."

"Will he be okay?" Carlos asked. "Wh-what's wrong with him? You're a doctor, you know, right Logan?"

Logan shook his head sadly. "I-I don't know what is wrong, 'Litos. He's really sick. None of his symptoms are adding up to me. I-I can't diagnose him this time. If I could have, he wouldn't be this sick. I would have gotten him help but…" Logan trailed off, hanging his head in shame, a tuft of brown hair falling into his eyes.

"Don't, Logie," Kendall whispered, touching Logan's head softly. Logan looked up to see Kendall's sincere green eyes staring into his guilty ones. "It's not your fault."

Logan nodded, leaning into Kendall's touch. Even when things were at their worst, Kendall always had the power to be able to comfort everyone involved, despite his own fears and panic.

Suddenly, James stopped muttering and sobbing and went limp against Kendall's chest.

"Oh no, James no, open your eyes buddy! You can't sleep yet," Kendall urged, lifting James' heavy head from his chest and patting his hot cheek. James' feverish eyes opened into tiny slits, giving them false hope and staring past Kendall, before shutting them closed one last time.

"Is he breathing though?" Logan asked, pressing his fingers against James' neck. His pulse was too slow for his liking, but still there, and Kendall could feel his weak breath against his neck.

"Yes, but the medics need to get here now. I don't know how much longer…" Kendall swallowed his words down, knowing that this high of a fever was extremely dangerous and that he needed help right away.

Moments later, the anxiety in the air was cut like a knife when several medics with a stretcher came bursting into the room. They crowded around James, and Logan had to coax Kendall away from James. The blonde refused to release James' hand, and Logan finally had to force them apart. Kendall leaned against Logan heavily, watching his best friend and brother be poked and prodded by worried medics and then whisked away on the gurney.

"James!" Kendall cried out, lunging forward to follow him. Logan and Carlos held him, their hands firmly against his chest.

"We'll follow them to the hospital," Logan assured him.

Gustavo and Kelly drove the 3 solemn boys to the hospital. They had been hoping to see James, at least catch one more glimpse of him, but he was already in the emergency room when they arrived. The wait was horrendously long, and all they could picture in their minds was images of James' ill, pained face. They had let James' sickness go too far, and now they had to deal with the guilt eating away at their emotions until finally a doctor appeared before them, clipboard in hand and frown on his aged features.

"James Diamond?" He asked in a gruff voice, though he already knew who they were there for. He recognized the bunch as Big Time Rush, being that his granddaughter loved the band.

Logan, Kendall and Carlos jumped to their feet in unison, standing so close to each other for support that they were nearly leaning on one another. They held their breaths and nodded, waiting for the news. The doctor took a second to glance at his clipboard.

"When James was brought in, we noticed immediately that his spleen was enlarged and his skin was showing signs of jaundice. That coupled with the high fever, which was 106.3, as well as the list of other symptoms you presented to us led us to perform several tests. In his bloodwork, we found a parasite called Plasmodium Vivax."

"What's that?" Kendall asked, completely lost. He glanced at Logan, who had gone completely pale, tears edging at the corners of his brown eyes. Kendall's heart sped up. Logan knew exactly what was wrong with James.

"M-malaria?" Logan choked out. It wasn't really a question, he said it in pure disbelief, because how could James have the second deadliest form of malaria in the world?

**A/N BAM now we know what's wrong with James… Yay! Haha. Please review it would make me so happy :') Once again sorry for typos, no time to read over this as I have to get back to work, but I know you are all forgiving! Love you guys! Xo!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N Thanks soo much for all of the reviews and reads last chapter! So awesome :D I meant to have updated this before camp but I guess I forgot! So sorry! **

Kendall felt like all of the air had been punched out of his body at the news. He stood there listlessly as James' doctor started explaining the treatment they were going to give James, but it all sounded like gibberish to him.

"…Normally with a Vivax infection we can treat the patient at home, but James has a very advanced case that has taken over his liver. We will start him immediately on both Chloroquine and primaquine-"

"Can I see him?" Kendall suddenly interrupted the doctor, despite that what the older man was saying was very important. Logan, who had been listening intently to what the doctor was saying, stared at Kendall.

"What was that, young man?" The doctor inquired. Kendall realized that his voice hadn't been more than an incoherent mumble, due to the fact that his whole body including his mouth felt numb.

"Can I see him?" Kendall repeated, louder and more forceful this time. He didn't care about medicine and treatment or anything of the sorts. All he needed right now was to see James, see that he was okay with his own eyes rather than just listen to what the doctor had said.

"Kendall you should sit down," Logan said slowly, realizing that his friend looked like he may fall over at any moment. The blonde just shook his head, ignoring how dizzy he felt.

"I have to see him."

"James is in critical care," The doctor said. "He's extremely dehydrated, and I have the best team of doctors around working on getting his fever down. They have seen several cases of malaria before. They know what to do. I'm sorry, but you might not be able to see him for a little while. It's imperative that we start him on treatment immediately, because the type of malaria James has contracted can turn fatal quick. It's already quite severe. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but I want you boys prepared. It can go either way right now. I will update you again as soon as I know anything. I suggest you call James' family right away."

James' doctor walked away, while Carlos, Kendall and Logan could only stand speechless. Logan chanced a glance at Kendall. The blonde had gone deathly pale and was leaning against the closest wall, unable to stand on his own any longer.

"Kendall, he's going to be fine," Logan said quickly, rushing over to him, slightly peeved at the doctor for being so carelessly blunt about James' disease.

"What's that supposed to mean, Logan? That it could '_go either way'_? James could die? James was d_ying, a_nd we didn't even know it?" Kendall put his face in his hands, wondering how he could be so damn oblivious to how his best friend was feeling.

Logan swallowed hard, his mouth feeling dry. Both Carlos and Kendall were staring at him expectantly, as if they were hoping for a different answer from Logan.

"Let's just pray we caught it in time," Logan whispered.

"We took shots," Carlos said. "Remember? Before we went on tour we all were vaccinated. How could this happen to James? I thought we were safe!"

"It's not always effective," Logan explained.

"You mean we could get sick too?" Carlos wondered, panicked etched on his face.

"No, no I'm sure we are fine," Logan assured Carlos. "Malaria can hide in your liver for weeks, even years. Remember we were told that even after we returned home, we would have to continue getting shots for a little bit?"

Kendall's eyes widened with realization. "He didn't get his follow-up shot, because he hates needles!"

"Right," Logan said. "We did, but he didn't."

"I figured he would have been fine!"

"That's what we all thought," Logan said sadly. "I don't know how I could have been so stupid, I should have known and made him take the shot. None of this would be happening right now."

"Ssh," Carlos said, placing a hand on Logan's shoulder. "We didn't know James would get so sick. It's nobody's fault."

"He's been sick for days and we just ignored it," Kendall said, feeling tears coming to his eyes. He needed to be alone right now. He couldn't cry, not in front of his friends. "I'll be right back." With that, the blonde stormed off, and Carlos and Logan both knew that he would not be back anytime soon. When he was upset it usually took a long time for him to calm down.

"Will Kendall be okay?" Carlos asked in a tiny voice, suddenly feeling lost. He turned to Logan, who was staring at the floor with a hand to his temple. He hadn't heard a word Carlos said.

"Logan?"

"It _is _my fault," Logan whispered. Carlos just stared at him with wide eyes. "That's my whole job in this band, isn't it? To make sure you guys are healthy and doing the right things… I let James skip his shot because we were so busy and I didn't feel like arguing with him."

"Logan you can't-"

"No, don't. This is my nightmare, you know; one of us in the hospital. James isn't okay, and it's my fault. I'm sorry Carlos."

"Logie, don't-" Carlos reached out for him, but Logan had spun on his heel and ran from the room, trying to conceal his tears just like Kendall had.

Carlos stood there for a moment, shocked, his hand outreached for Logan until he curled his fingers and lowered his arm, defeated, to his side. His friends who he relied on so much had left him alone in one of his least favorite places on earth. He glanced around the room, confused, before realizing there was nobody around to help him this time. Finally, Carlos curled up on an empty chair, knees to his chest, and waited for his friends to come back to him.

**A/N Urgh this stinks I'm sorry. But this is when all the guys fall apart. Fun times. I'll update again as soon as I can! Thanks for reading!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N Hey guys **** Thanks so much for reading and reviewing that last chapter! You all are so amazing… I enjoy every single review you send out! Hope you like this next chapter **

"_Kendall!" _James screamed out. He wrapped his arms around his shaking torso, waiting for the salvation that never came. A few tears mixed with the heavy rain that continued to fall, battering his face and helpless body. He was outside, and he was lost, but he wasn't quite sure how he got there. To be honest he didn't remember anything, besides feeling sicker than he ever had before while waiting backstage for his friends to finish their performance.

After deciding that nobody was going to come and help him in this storm, James slowly got to his feet and assessed himself and his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was that he didn't feel sick anymore, although he was shaking violently, probably because of the rain. Next he noticed that he wasn't as lost as he first thought; across from the field he was in was the venue that Big Time Rush was set to perform in that night. The guys most likely didn't even realize he was missing.

James sprinted through the rain back to the venue and burst through the double doors, yelling Kendall's name again.

He was met with silence. The hallway was vacant and dark save for a couple of dim fluorescent lights. He stood there for a moment. Something didn't seem right, but he couldn't place what it was, besides the building being eerily quiet when there should be faint sounds of the heavy bass music and screams of thousands of fans echoing through the halls.

Puzzled, James made his way through the silent building, searching for any sign of their crew who should be everywhere, running around busily like they always do, making sure everything was going perfectly.

The first room James found his way back too was his dressing room, but the small space was dark and empty of all the things the band requested to be in their room, such as healthy snacks and tea. It was as if nobody had even used the room that night.

"Jeez, how long was I out for?" James mumbled to himself. He made his way backstage, expecting the crew to be packing up the stage and equipment, which usually took hours to complete, but just like the rest of the building, backstage and the arena itself was cleaned up and emptied out.

"Hello!" James called out, worry tugging at the pit of his stomach. Nothing like this had ever happened to him before. It was like something creepy right out of the movies. This kind of stuff never happened in real life, did it?

"Come on Diamond, keep it together. They gotta be around here somewhere," James whispered, giving himself a mini pep-talk.

James ran off the stage to go check the area to the side of the venue where they parked the trucks and the vans to transport the band. Surely the boys hadn't left him. They were probably all out there, signing things for their fans. Their rushers were dedicated; they'd wait for hours in the extreme elements just to meet them. Or maybe they were all settled in their SUV, just chilling, waiting for him.

But nobody was out there either, and not a single vehicle was in the parking lot. Confused, James headed back inside out of the rain and put his hands to his face, taking in a deep and shuddery breath to calm himself down and regain a sense of thought. His heart was racing way too fast. What was going on?

"Ok, surely there has to be an explanation. People don't just up and disappear like that. I just have to figure out what happened and find the guys." James blew out a heavy sigh. Talking to himself seemed to help calm him a little, so he continued on. "I was in the dressing room all night, too sick to even move. So how did I end up outside? Obviously I've been passed out for hours. But why would they leave me, especially when they knew I was so sick?" James felt a bit hurt by this; that his buds would forget about him when he needed them the most, but he knew he would forgive them as soon as he found them. Right now he was too scared to be mad.

"Okay guys this isn't funny anymore! Come out, come out wherever you are!" James suddenly cried out. He was sick of this stupid game. Again, his calls were met with an almost eerie silence save for the clatter of the pouring rain against the cement. The soaked boy hurried back inside the venue in hopes of warmth of protection from the storm, because he still could not stop shaking so violently. Even indoors, the chills continued from deep inside him.

"Maybe I'm still sicker than I thought," he mumbled quietly, scrubbing a hand over his weary face. His eyes scanned the dark halls of the venue, which seemed so large and lonely.

Defeated, James slid down the wall and curled up on the cold floor with his knees to his chest, waiting for his friends to come find him.

Kendall choked on his own sobs, wandering around the courtyard of the hospital. Walking was not helping as much as it normally did right now. Normally, all Kendall had to do was walk around to clear his head, but to be honest he was feeling more stressed by the minute.

That was his _best friend _back there. Over the past few years, James had become something like a brother to him. There was nobody else in the world he could trust like he did James. When it came down to it, James had always really been the only one who was ever there for Kendall. And now, suddenly, there was a chance that James may never even wake up again? It just felt like it was all some kind of horrible nightmare. Kendall wished it was.

Logan slammed the bathroom door shut and locked the door, refusing to turn on the lights so he wouldn't have to see his tear-streaked face in the mirror. It was bad enough hearing his own soft cries echoing against the cold, hard tile walls.

He had failed his responsibility.

Making sure the boys were okay was his priority. He usually did a pretty good job of letting the guys down; he wasn't as funny, strong, social, or talented as the rest of the group, in his mind. But he always could take good care of them. He prided himself on it. But when James needed Logan's skills most, he had failed him, and it made Logan feel sick to think about it.

After nearly an hour of waiting, Carlos finally decided he had enough. What good was he doing for James just sitting there pouting? His best buddy was alone in a hospital room, not feeling good and probably scared out of his mind. Carlos had to do something.

The small Hispanic made his way to the front desk and peered at the nurse until she finally looked up from her paperwork.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, can you tell me where James Diamond is please?" Carlos requested, trying his best to sound polite.

The nurse looked at her computer screen and scrolled past a couple of pages.

"Um, I'm sorry sir but James Diamond isn't allowed any visitors. His condition is very critical and he was just put through extensive, exhausting testing."

"Please?" Carlos tried again, folding his hands together and pouting his lips.

"I'm really sorry, but I can't let you see him right now." The nurse looked away, silently dismissing Carlos. He hung his head and walked away, wondering what he should do now when he overheard two doctors speaking to each other in hushed voices. He recognized one of them to be James doctor, and he swiftly fell into step behind the men, looking over their shoulder.

"…Did you get Diamond on the IV yet?"

"Yes," James doctor replied. "I started him on a double dose of both medications…"

Carlos peered at the doctor's clipboard as the two older men spoke. There, on the top, was James' room number.

Carlos smiled to himself and hurried to the nearest elevator, anxious to see his friend.

**A/N I hope that was okay and everyone enjoyed it! By the way, did anybody else cry during last night's episode of Big Time Rush? I was sooo emotional. I cried and cried. I can't believe it's been so many years! The best years of my life, honestly. **


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